Republican Sean Reyes wants to be Utah’s next Attorney General. He counts among his accomplishments becoming one of the first minority attorneys in the state to make partner at a major law firm and co-founding an organization to help Utahns combat fraud. He joined us in the studio to talk about where he stands on the important issues.
A bill that bans Utah cities from enforcing anti-idling ordinances advanced in a House Committee Thursday. Last fall, Salt Lake City passed such an ordinance in an effort to improve air quality. And despite the city’s promise to change it, lawmakers passed the bill twelve to two. Salt Lake City resident Ingrid Griffinson told the committee she doesn’t feel the move is very democratic.
A bill that makes adjustments to Utah’s environmental boards passed through committee yesterday, despite wide concern from opponents who fear the public could lose its voice. Republican Senator Margaret Dayton says her bill is needed to shrink the size of the Department of Environmental Quality boards that control air, water and hazardous waste, which she says have become too large. Her bill would also change the way appeals are heard, bringing in administrative law judges and giving more authority to the department director.
The oil and gas-rich Uinta Basin in eastern Utahis the focus of a new air quality study, one that’s being called the most comprehensive air quality study ever in the state. It’s bringing together Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, and oil and gas producers to figure out the region’s wintertime ozone pollution is so bad. KCPW’s Jeff Robinson spoke with Bryce Bird, Director of the Utah Division of Air Quality.
A new, statewide initiative to improve air quality won’t include any new regulations, but purely voluntary efforts. As Utah Governor Gary Herbert announced Tuesday, the Utah Clean Air Partnership, or U-CAIR, is about getting individual Utahns to examine how they can make improvements.
It was 61 years ago today that nuclear testing began on the Nevada Test Site, as many residents of Salt Lake Cityand more rural areas like Kane County know too well. That’s why local leaders are marking a National Day of Remembrance for Victims of Nuclear Weapons Testing, which was designated by the U.S. Senate, to commemorate the lives of downwinders, those who were exposed to the radiation. Local resident Mary Dickson is one of them.
As Chief Deputy Utah Attorney General, Republican John Swallow has battled against the federal government on issues like health care reform and public lands. Now, with incumbent Mark Shurtleff retiring at the end of 2012, he’s running for his boss’s job.
Although Utah leaders frequently participate in efforts like the Clean Air Challenge, 2012 looks to be the year the Utah Legislature could actually take action on the state’s notoriously bad air quality by passing a new law. Democratic Representative Patrice Arent’s bill, which cleared the House Public Utilities and Technology Committee Wednesday with bipartisan support, would create an Air Quality Task Force to look at how to change state regulations or law to make a change.
The state of Utah has given a green light on water rights to Blue Castle Holdings, which wants to build a nuclear power plant in Green River. In the first half of the show, we’ll talk with the company’s CEO Aaron Tilton about the economic and energy upside and safety details of the proposal. [...]
The fate of a proposed nuclear power plant in Utah’s Emery County is now in the hands of the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission, following the state’s approval of two water rights applications for the Blue Castle Holdings project on the Green River. Although some environmental and citizens’ groups have been swift to condemn that decision, Utah State Engineer Kent Jones with the Division of Water Rights says they had to be approved under law if certain criteria were met.
